Does FDR in KEGG Pathway Analysis Indicate Enrichment Level or Simply Reflect a Smaller P-value?
False Discovery Rate (FDR) is a statistical method used in multiple hypothesis testing to control the occurrence of false positives. When performing a large number of hypothesis tests (e.g., analyzing thousands of genes for associations with a disease), some statistically significant results may arise purely due to random chance. To mitigate such false positives, FDR correction is applied. The FDR value ranges from 0 to 1, with a lower FDR indicating greater confidence that the observed pathway enrichment is not due to chance.
Thus, FDR reflects the reliability of enrichment results rather than the extent of enrichment or the absolute magnitude of the P-value. In general, a smaller FDR suggests a lower probability of false positives, making the enrichment result statistically more robust. In KEGG pathway analysis, pathways with smaller FDR values should be prioritized, as they are more likely to represent true biological associations relevant to the study.
MtoZ Biolabs, an integrated chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) services provider.
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